March in April

It's not every week you get to march down the middle of Market Street in San Francisco with a whole big bunch of people you don't know. Except for this week, when it happens twice.

You may have missed the Tax March yesterday, but there still is time to get in on the act: this upcoming Saturday (11am, Justin Herman Plaza, if you want to hear the speeches. Otherwise, show up at noon or so.) is the March for Science. Best of all, you can march along with real live scientists. With a science fair, food trucks and other cool stuff at the end. And it's not even supposed to rain.

What a way to blow off a Saturday!

Branching Out

Between March 12th and March 27th, I visited the spectacular dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) at Mountain View Cemetery. It is a rarity in nature - a deciduous conifer. Closely related to the coastal redwoods and giant redwoods of the west coast (these guys stay evergreen all year round), it grows tall and straight like its cousins.

Dawn redwood trees are old - as much as 50 million years - so yes, they did meet up with dinosaurs once upon a time. It was first "discovered" in China in the 1940's. There still exist small stands of dawn redwoods in China, but if you have the space, you may purchase one and have a bit, albeit a big bit, of history in your own yard, too.